Examining Adaptation in The
Sweet Hereafter: The Story
Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter is the fictional story of a small, upstate New York town called Sam Dent. The novel tells of an accident, in which the local school bus slides off a cliff one morning on the way to school, and how the residents of Sam Dent try to continue on with their lives after a number of their children are killed in the accident. There are a variety of mixed feelings among the townspeople; some feel anger towards the bus driver, others are hurt and direct their rage at individuals from outside of the town or even at themselves. Each person is forced to grieve in his own way and deal with the fact that it was an accident and there is not one person or group who can be held accountable for the loss of the children. Each individual experiences a personal journey of healing and while they are connected by the accident, they exist separately in its aftermath or "sweet hereafter."
These are the key components of the story of The Sweet Hereafter, and they are essential to the make-up of the story according to the theories of Seymour Chatman. These "kernels" are the base elements upon which the "satellites," or supporting details, are formed and rely. Mieke Bal's theories also distinguishe this "story" from the "texts" accompanying it, and takes it one step further to acknowledge the chronology of the events as they are presented (identified as "fabula"). Therefore, the kernels or story of The Sweet Hereafter boils down to a simple set of events: a normal morning bus ride to school during which the vehicle careens over a cliff killing a number of children. A lawyer arrives to the corresponding locale, seeking to file a lawsuit in response to the accident, and the townspeople attempt to continue on with their lives after the loss of the children. These are the facts of the narrative which must be preserved in order to tell the same story. The way in which these elements are depicted is dependant upon the discourse (also satellites or texts) and can be varied in numerous ways while still retaining the same story. Bal's fabula correspond to the chronology of the events according to the discourse, and therefore, also should have no effect on the events themselves. The differences in how the story of The Sweet Hereafter is told (between the film and the narrative) are a matter of taking the story and applying a specific discourse.
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